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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: coach · chair · staff · wax · lean · bass · field · cold

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. field — farmland
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — thin
  7. staff — employees
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. cold — not warm
  15. staff — a stick
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. staff — employees
  19. field — for sport
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a leader
  23. field — a subject
  24. coach — pulled by horses

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com